In the Family Way
by AnythingBut
Summary: Sequel to "Loopholes": Harry and Draco are expecting their first baby. AU, m-preg, slash. Don t like, don t read!
1. Part 1: Three Months Later

_Disclaimer_: the world of Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, all recognizable characters and storylines are hers and not used for profit.

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_Author´s note_: this is a sequel to my story _Loopholes_, I suggest that you read that first to know the "case history".

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_Warnings_: this story deals with a homosexual relationship, male pregnancy and slash. Don´t like, don´t read, you´ve been warned.

Enjoy!

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**Part 1: Three Months later  
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Harry kicked off his shoes and ran one hand through his hair, yawning, while he walked into the kitchen for a drink of water; he had just come home from a long day at the office.

A day which had come with a surprise, and apart from that, the paperwork that sometimes came with the job made being an Auror less glamourous than he´d initially expected, he thought sourly, but then his face broke into a smile: he hadn´t heard Draco coming in, but he could feel his presence just before one arm sneaked around his waist and his lover´s soft voice breathed into his ear: "Hello, gorgeous."

Harry couldn´t help himself from going weak in the knees; no matter for how long they´d been together already, Draco could still do this to him.

The dark-haired wizard sighed contentedly and leaned back against the blond: "I thought this day would never end," he sighed, breathing in Draco´s scent.

His lover kissed his neck: "I´ve prepared a bath," he murmured.

A few minutes later they were lying in the warm water together, limbs entwined. Harry could feel the tension slowly leave his body as Draco´s hands gently began massaging his shoulders.

Leaning back against his lover, he could feel the small bump that was Draco´s belly; each night, Harry cautiously laid his hands over it, marvelling at the growing evidence that his lover indeed was pregnant, that they had created a small marvel together.

-

Draco had suffered from typical symptomes during the first three months, such as tiredness, mood swings and exhaustion; the infamous morning sickness had often rather occured during the night, however, and more than once Harry had woken up in the middle of the night to find the bed next to him empty and Draco in the bathroom, retching violently.

Harry usually had gotten up to look after him in those occasions, quietly kneeling down next to him so as to support his forehead with one hand and his upper body with the other.

Most of the time the blond had been grateful for this, though every so often he had snapped at Harry to leave him alone, suddenly embarrassed by his body´s behaviour.

Harry had simply grit his teeth together then, had told himself not to bother, and had returned to bed. Draco usually apologized profusely in the following morning, only to snap at Harry again when he was too understanding: "I don´t need to be handled with kid gloves," he all but barked once, thoroughly spooking his boyfriend, "I´m pregnant, not ill!"

Poor Harry sought help at the Weasley´s, only to be laughed at by Ron: "Wouldn´t want to swap with you now, mate," he grinned, and after making sure his wife wasn´t standing behind him, added in an undertone: "Hermione was having my head for every time I so much as _breathed_ too loud! It will get better after the first three months, though, don´t you worry."

"Hallelujah," Harry murmured dejectedly.

-

It turned out that Ron had been right; the further the pregnancy got, the calmer Draco became. He looked healthy, his usually pale cheeks having taken on a healthy colour, and his hair was shining more than ever. He was full of enthusiasm and had begun to turn the guest room a. k. a. room-to-dump-things-in-and-then-close-the-door-behind-them into a nursery.

Harry left him in peace, giving him his head; he knew Draco had something specific in his mind and didn´t want to intrude. He loved to watch the progress, though; Draco took his time after the room had been cleared of everything, and often spent hours simply sitting in it and dreaming of the child which would inhabit it soon, the child he could already sense inside him.

The little one had been present from very early on, even though Draco couldn´t feel it moving yet; he had read that it had to do with its magic, which was feeding from his own. If he laid his hands on his belly and concentrated, he thought he could feel a soft pulse, a butterfly heartbeat.

It was comforting and scary at the same time; he was responsible for the little pollywog´s safety, and it already had all his love.

-

Harry turned a little now, twisting in the tub so he could slide one arm around Draco´s midriff, and rested his head against his chest, careful not to squeeze his love´s belly with his shoulder. Draco pressed a kiss onto Harry´s unruly hair: "Shall I put you to bed early?" he suggested in a low voice.

Harry sighed, closing his eyes: "Yeah... sounds heavenly..."

Slender fingers stroked some stray strands away from his face: "What´s bothering you, love?" Draco asked.

Harry subdued another sigh; he should have known that Draco would notice something was wrong. Or rather, not wrong, just badly timed._ Askew_. Harry frowned at his own thoughts, then opened his eyes again: "Maloney called me to his office today," he began, trying to sound calm, "to tell me that he´s going to retire soon. It appears that he wants me as his successor."

Draco´s hands never stopped caressing Harry, even though there was a stunned silence.

Harry propped himself up to look at the blond man, waiting for him to voice his opinion.

Draco returned his gaze contemplatively: "This is great, Harry," he said quietly, his voice betraying nothing of his emotions. "You´ve worked long and hard to achieve this, haven´t you?"

Harry was wary: "I have, yeah... I hadn´t expected to become Head of the Department so early, though, I hadn´t in fact expected Maloney to retire already."

Draco studied him attentively: "But you do want to accept the job, don´t you?"

Harry shrugged, running his hand through his hair: "I guess I do... but the timing couldn´t be worse, could it? I´ll very likely be working long hours every day, at least during the first few months. And the baby..."

Draco´s hand interrupted him. His lover had cupped Harry´s cheek so as to get his attention back: "Harry... you deserve this promotion, and I think you shouldn´t hesitate to accept it, despite the baby."

His thumb tenderly stroked Harry´s cheek: "We´ll manage," he added very softly. "stop worrying."

Harry turned his head and pressed a kiss into Draco´s palm: "I don´t deserve you," he murmured, his eyes shining as he inched closer to the blond and pulled him into his arms. "I can´t promise to stop worrying, but I promise I´ll try to be there for you, and our little one, no matter what."

Draco smiled into Harry´s neck: "My knight in shining armour," he quipped, but then turned serious again: "I´m proud of you, Harry," he whispered. "Congratulations."

-

Later, when Harry was already asleep, Draco couldn´t stop mulling things over. He had not lied to Harry, he was indeed proud of him, and he knew what a well-earned success it was for his lover to receive the new position. His workload would certainly increase, meaning long hours and less time together, but on the other hand, Draco hoped that it would also mean a little more safety.

If Harry was Head of Department, he wouldn´t necessarily have to take on so many jobs himself, he´d rather delegate, which was a comforting thought; Draco had lost count of the occasions on which his lover had come home bruised and battered, or hadn´t come home at all.

The blond actually was on first-name terms with St Mungo´s hospital´s welcome witch by now, who on numerous occasions had informed him that Harry had been admitted to the Emergency Ward due to a work-related incident.

Draco tenderly stroked his sleeping lover´s cheek. He´d be glad if the promotion meant less of those, all things considered; he was confident he could put up with the extra hours instead.

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**To Be Continued**

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_Further Author´s note_: I´m aware that Harry´s actually been Head of the Auror Department since 2007, but it fitted the story better this way!


	2. Part 2: Realizations

**Many thanks** to all who´ve read, reviewed and/or put the story on alert (26 people again ;D)!

Here´s the second part, enjoy!

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**Part 2: Realizations**

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On more than one occasion, Harry was utterly grateful to have Ron to turn to. He was very relieved, for instance, to hear that Hermione had had weird food cravings as well during both pregnancies, and that it wasn´t just an urban myth.

Draco didn´t make much ado about it and not once sent Harry to a Muggle store at night to get him something specific, yet Harry had eyes and saw the sometimes rather revolting creations of his lover, toast with chocolate spread and pearl onions, for example, which was his latest discovery.

At least he was eating, Harry admonished himself when he saw the blond´s almost apologetic expression at Harry´s frown; during the first three months, Draco had been put off food by the constant nausea, and Healer McCarthy had stated that he was underweight at the end of the first trimester.

"It admittedly looks disgusting," Draco now said, "and I _know_ it is, but apparently it also is what baby wants..."

He broke off when Harry got up from his seat on the opposite side of the table, walked around it and wrapped his arms around him tenderly: "You don´t need to justify it," he said into his lover´s ear and kissed him on the cheek.

Draco leaned back against him: "Good to hear that," he sighed, "it might get worse."

"Poor you, having to suffer from baby´s little quirks like that..."

"Don´t mock us, Potter, we´re in the majority here!"

"Ha, teaming up against me already? That goes into the book!"

"Which book?" Draco turned to look at him inquisitively.

Harry blushed furiously, averting his eyes; he hadn´t meant to let it slip. "Nothing, I... I just thought I´d write down some things for the baby... it´s kind of sentimental, really..."

Draco didn´t need to ask why; he knew Harry deeply regretted that he had never gotten to know his parents, and he had told his boyfriend that he sometimes wished he had more than the one letter from his mother, something to take into his hands and make their existence real.

"You´re writing to baby?" he said thickly, for he suddenly had lump in his throat.

Harry nodded hesitantly: "I didn´t mean to keep it a secret," he said defiantly, "I just..."

"Hey," Draco said softly and reached for Harry´s hands, pulling them close to his body while he smiled up at Harry with moist eyes, "may I quote you here: you don´t need to justify it." He turned a little more serious again: "It´s a lovely idea."

Harry exhaled in relief: "Really? You don´t think it´s silly?"

"No, I don´t," Draco murmured. "I actually am doing the same."

He stayed seated until Harry had left, clutching the edge of the table with both hands in order to keep his composure, and only when he was sure he was alone did he allow himself to sag, did all the colour drain out of his face.

Oh Merlin. What _had_ he been thinking?

-

Harry couldn´t stop thinking of Draco that morning, feeling a rush of affection everytime he did. He hadn´t known how devoted to the baby they both already were, had worried that he himself was blowing the whole thing out of proportions by starting to write the journal, for example, and therefore was glad to realize that Draco had equally strong feelings for their unborn.

While they had prepared for the pregnancy, Harry had rather had the time in mind when the baby would finally be there, whereas he hadn´t given the nine months leading up to it much thought, only concerning Draco. When his lover had started showing ever so slightly however, ´the baby´ had suddenly become a reality, something palpable.

Harry wasn´t jealous of Draco, who was bound to currently have a stronger bond with the little one as he was carrying it, but he wanted to do something for it, contribute something as well.

For some reason, Harry found it easier to talk to Ron about these things, whereas Draco spent significant time together with Hermione, who seized the opportunity to give advice, and who answered the blond wizard´s every question with tremendous patience.

Draco felt reassured to have someone who had actually gone through the situation.

"When are you two coming round on Friday night?" she asked while she poured them a cup of tea.

Draco, his mind on the journals, nodded absently: "What?" he then asked.

"Molly´s 60th birthday," Hermione repeated patiently, nodding towards the wall calendar as she sat down at the kitchen counter opposite to Draco.

"Right," Draco tried to look contrite. "Sorry."

Hermione folded her arms and leaned forward: "Everything okay?"

"Yeah... I just..." Draco sought for words: "I´m afraid... I think I´m going to burst," he finally said in a small voice.

"Already? Come on, you´re only in your fourth month!" Hermione carefully hid her amusement at that.

"N-no, that´s not what I meant..." Draco all but stammered, "it´s because... I´m so happy."

He was blushing furiously now. "Harry makes me happy, and the baby..." he subconsciously stroked his belly.

Hermione´s expression turned serious as she regarded him now: "And that scares you?" she asked quietly and with evident concern.

Draco drew a slightly ragged breath: "I know it sounds weird, but... this morning I realized that this is too good, all this luck... it simply can´t be happening to me, Hermione. There´s got to be a price for it, I´m sure."

Hermione wasn´t surprised at this, but it worried her; it had taken a long time for Draco to get his self assurance back after the war.

His family name had earned him a lot of reprimands and threats, even though he himself had turned away from the path his father had chosen for him before the end; he had barely escaped the Dark Mark, yet a lot of people were convinced that he had it, and that it was hidden by a deceptional charm.

His relationship with Harry had helped with that, even though many people expressed their profound lack of understanding as to why the saviour of the wizarding world would get romantically involved with a suspected Death Eater.

It usually wasn´t like him to weigh up the good and the bad aspects of his life in order to find an explanation for why things happened, but he looked severely distraught now, and there were tears in his eyes.

-

Hermione got to her feet and rounded the counter, just like Harry had done that morning, to put her arms around Draco: "What is really the matter, babycakes?" she asked softly.

Draco´s body was tense: "This is a lot of responsibility," he whispered while tears were running down his cheeks. "What if something goes wrong? Harry will be devastated if we lose the baby..."

He could feel Hermione´s hair against his temple as she gently reinforced his grip, and allowed himself to be held, clutching her arms as she rocked him ever so slightly: "It´s perfectly all right to be scared," she said in a low, soothing voice. "And it´s incredibly overwhelming to realize how much you love the little pollywog already, isn´t it, even though it´s not even four months old?"

Draco nodded through his tears.

Hermione smiled into his hair: "It´s okay," she whispered. "You´ll be fine, and the baby too."

-

They stayed like this until Draco had stopped trembling.

He wiped his eyes, a little embarrassed now: "I´m quite a sissy, huh?"

Hermione shook her head, secretly amused: "It´s normal," she asserted. "Might as well get used to it."

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**To Be Continued**

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	3. Part 3: Surprise

Dear readers and reviewers! Although the first two parts were rather short, there are 38 people on story alert, so thanks for following the story!

From now on, chapters will be longer.

Enjoy!

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**Part 3: Surprise  
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Draco still felt a little ashamed when he got home a while later; he was not normally someone to wear his heart on his sleeve, even with Hermione, who had managed to break down all his walls within months after Harry and he had gotten together.

He had been very cautious around Harry´s friends at first, considering their mutual prehistory and the animosity which it had resulted in, and didn´t expect them to be more than civil. Hermione however had made an effort to get to know him, evidence of her big heart; Draco had not known what to make of it at first, and had accepted her offer of friendship rather hesitantly and more for Harry´s sake than for his own.

Then one day they had all been attending Padma Patil´s wedding, which, despite a rather fancy decorum and beautiful setting on a beach, had had the worst wizarding band ever, and dancing was a rather horrid affair.

While poor Harry and Ron had been cornered by the –former- Patil twins, who delighted in telling everyone within reach about their desastrous attendance of the Yule Ball during their fourth year at Hogwarts, Hermione and Draco had ended up at the bar, glad to escape.

They celebrated it with _Moriarty´s Finest Tentacled Tequila_, taking a bottle down to the water and sitting in the sand.

"´Mynee," Draco said after a while, "I jus´, I jus´ wan´ t´say I´m sorry- for, y´know, callin´ you names..."

"´s all right," hiccuped Hermione, "you were young an´... an´... - an´stup´d."

"Whadds stuped."

"Not _stuped_. Stu-pidd!"

"Oh. Righ´..."

That had been the turning point, once the world had stopped spinning. Getting drunk together did a lot for bonding, if only for the shared monstrous hangover on the following day, Draco mused.

Oh, and the expression on Ron´s face had been priceless, of course.

-

Harry sighed impatiently, giving the stack of papers in front of him a frustated shove; he just couldn´t concentrate, which absolutely didn´t help. He had just come back from a meeting with the Minister and would have loved nothing more than to floo straight home, yet the monthly reports had to be finished first.

He had just dipped his quill into the ink when the Notification Globe on his desk began to glow, and a moment later his assistant´s head appeared: "You have a visitor, Sir," she announced. "It´s Mrs Weasley."

For one moment, Harry thought she was talking about Ron´s mother, but it was Hermione who walked into his office. Harry inwardly smacked himself; he doubted he would ever get used to her "new" surname.

"Coming to save me from paperwork?" he asked hopefully, rising to greet her.

As expected, she gave him a quizzical look, but then smiled: "No, I actually wanted to talk to you about something."

Harry couldn´t hide a frown as he motioned her to sit down: "Everything all right?"

"Yes. I just... I´m a little concerned about Draco."

"Why, what´s wrong with him?" Harry immediately tensed. "What happened?"

"Calm down, nothing happened," Hermione quickly replied. "But I saw him today, and I have the impression that he´s a little overwhelmed by things right now."

"The pregnancy, you mean? But he is doing much better now, isn´t he? Apart from the weird eating."

Hermione smiled once more: "Yes, he´s doing better since the constant nausea has stopped. And all in all he´s feeling well, I´d say, but he´s afraid that something might happen to the baby. The realization of all the new responsibility is crashing down on him right now, I´d say."

"Why didn´t he tell me?"

"He probably doesn´t want to bother you."

"It´s not me who´s delicate right now, is it?" Harry said a little disgruntledly. "He can bother me with anything! We´re in this together, after all!"

Hermione regarded him patiently: "He knows he can, yet I don´t think he´d want to. You know him- he doesn´t want to appear weak, and he´s terribly concerned about how you´d take it if something went wrong."

Harry snorted; this sounded exactly like Draco. He´d rather work it out by himself than bothering his boyfriend.

"What does he think I´d _do_?" he asked, baffled that he hadn´t noticed.

"Isn´t it obvious?" Hermione asked in a low voice. "He´s afraid that you might leave him."

Harry gave a short, exasperated laugh: "I don´t believe it! We´ve talked about the possibility that something might go wrong before we decided to do this, but Draco never once expressed these concerns."

"That´s because at that time he wasn´t_ pregnant_ yet," Hermione pointed out. "It´s messing him about!"

Harry stared at her: "Did you... I mean, when you were expecting, did you feel the same?" he asked her after a moment´s silent contemplation.

"I did. With both kids." Hermione raised her hands in a helpless gesture: "Those darn hormones render you completely vulnerable, and the sudden realization that you actually carry another life inside you doesn´t help with that."

Harry nodded absently: "I see... I should have paid more attention to him, then I´d had noticed."

"I think this is quite new," she said softly. "I know that he´s very happy with you, Harry, and he´s also happy about the baby. Just try and make him feel as secure as possible. Show him that you love _him_ first of all."

-

Her words were still ringing through Harry´s mind when he got ready to floo home three hours later. He had hastily done the paperwork after his friend had left, and had then sat at his desk for a while, thinking and wondering what could have transpired since the morning that could have shaken Draco like that.

It had been him who had quite recently told Harry to stop worrying, after all.

He found his lover in the living room when he got home; Draco was sitting on the rug in front of the fireplace, rummaging through a box of photos.

He smiled when he saw Harry, nothing indicated that something might be wrong. The Auror bent down for a kiss: "What are you doing?"

"Looking for a picture of us," Draco replied. "For the journal."

Harry shrugged out of his cloak, threw it onto the couch and held out his hands; when Draco took them, Harry pulled him up into his arms: "Hey you," he murmured, smiling affectionately, and rubbed his nose against Draco´s.

The blond sighed as Harry gently tightened his grip around him, melting into the embrace: "Feels good," he murmured with his lips against Harry´s. They tenderly and unhurriedly kissed, letting the other´s taste and feel wash over themselves.

"I love you, Draco," Harry murmured. "I love you so much..."

Draco closed his eyes as Harry caressed the fine strands of his hair at his neck; this was about the two of them, he told himself, only his lover and him, right?

-

Molly Weasley did not intend to make a lot of fuss over her 60th birthday; ever since the latest war and Voldemort´s ultimate defeat most people seized every opportunity to celebrate and enjoy themselves, but Molly had never gotten over the loss of her son and good friends.

She did not usually show her grief, or how much it distraught her to watch George suffer from the loss of his twin, but she had changed significantly during the past few years; she had lost a great deal of weight along with her former habit of bustling about.

The motherly figure Harry had come to know during his school years still existed, but she seemed to find it more difficult to handle every-day life; she did not knit anymore for example, as it required too much energy.

Mr Weasley, who had been hit equally hard by Fred´s death, at least had his work to occupy and distract himself with, and he was coping much better.

The arrival of their first grandchild had been an obvious blessing; ever since Victoire, Bill and Fleur´s first daughter, had been born, both of them had perked up considerably.

-

Hermione was determined not to simply let the birthday pass, thus she had organized a surprise party for Molly, under the pretence of inviting her in-laws to dinner. She had started to plan the event months in advance, seeing as it was on the day before Halloween, and had engaged Mr Weasley as an ally.

Harry and Draco arrived quite late, as Harry had not managed to come home earlier, and Hermione shooed them into the living room, where the complete Weasley family, Hermione´s parents and several other familiar faces were gathered already, most of them grinning and nodding in greeting.

"Have your wands ready," Hermione instructed them. "When they come in, we´ll lighten the tips and shout ´Surprise´. They´ll be here any minute now."

They nodded, drawing their wands.

For some reason, Draco felt his heart hammering in his chest as he was standing next to Harry in the dark, even though he had no reason to be nervous. His talk with Hermione had reassured him that his anxiety was a normal hormonal reaction, and he had managed to be calm and composed during the days ever since, but it didn´t relieve the pressure which he was feeling subjected to all of a sudden.

After Harry had gone to sleep that night, Draco had lain awake, worrying: the baby was such a big part of their lives already. What if he was attacked while out shopping, as had happened a number of times in the past, or what if he did something wrong?

He couldn´t let any harm befall the precious little being that was growing inside him. Just how to protect it he did not know.

Every single sound seemed to reverberate through the darkness unnaturally loud, and Draco´s hands felt clammy. Maybe he should not be here, he thought. Maybe he should have stayed at home. There was no way to flee now, however; the Healer has strictly forbidden him to Apparate during the pregnancy, and the fireplace was blocked by party-guests.

The sound of approaching footsteps and a puzzled voice cut through these considerations anyway, and a moment later, the door opened.

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**To Be Continued**

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	4. Part 4: Maternal Advice

As always, thanks for reading, and in the case of mjmusiclover, Dramione1996, RocklifeDude and ME LOVEY JAZZ also for reviewing- your feedback is most welcome! ;D

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Enjoy!

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**Part 4: Maternal Advice**

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Molly covered her mouth with her hand after Arthur had led her into the darkened living room and everyone had ignited the tips of their wands or lit sparklers (Hermione´s Muggle parents, for instance) and shouted "Surprise!"

Her eyes swam as she looked into the many beaming faces: "Oh, you shouldn´t have..."

George was the first to congratulate her. He looked haggard, but he smiled at his mother before hugging her tightly: "He´s never really gone, Mum," he whispered into her ear. It was the first time for years that she could remember him mentioning Fred.

"And he´d want you to be happy, especially today." he added.

They clung to one another for a long time, but when they finally broke apart, Molly was smiling through her tears.

Harry and Draco were the last guests to congratulate her; she hugged Harry and Draco as tightly as she had done with her other children, considering that she regarded Harry as a son as well. When he had told her about himself and Draco, she had taken some time to comprehend the news, and had been rather reserved at their first visit.

It hadn´t taken long for her to warm towards Draco however, and after she had learned how he had turned away from his family and the destination his father desired for him, and at what costs, she had fully included him into the extended family.

Draco often felt ashamed around her when he remembered how badly he had verbally abused her back in school, and didn´t think he deserved her affection. Simultaneously, he drank it up as though his life depended on it, seeing as he had never had a mother like that; Narcissa had been everything but affectionate.

-

Draco now watched Molly as she was making the rounds, until she reached the little group which consisted of Charlie, Hermione, Harry and himself. Smiling affectionately, she pulled Draco close: "You look tired, dear," she observed in a low voice. "Have some more champagne, it´ll liven you up!"

"Oh no thanks, I´m fine," he quickly said, unsure as to wether he should tell her that he was not drinking alcohol, and why. Harry however disengaged himself from the increasingly heated discussion Hermione and Charlie were having about Dragon Classification Laws, slung his arm around Draco´s midriff, smiling, and looked at his lover questioningly.

Draco could tell he was near bursting. He had no other mother to tell, after all, so when Draco nodded, Harry leaned forward conspirationally: "Molly," he all but whispered, "we´ve got some news. Draco´s pregnant."

Molly gaped at him for what seemed an eternity, and Draco could feel his face flush.

"He´s... you´re... what?" she stammered. "_How_? Is this a joke?"

"It´s not a joke, but quite a long story," Draco replied, and Harry nodded vigorously, grinning at Mrs Weasley´s disbelieving face.

For a moment, Draco feared that she would turn away disgustedly, as she seemed to sway on the spot.

In the next moment however, she had pulled Draco into her arms once more, in one swift, surprisingly quick motion, and stroked his back: "That´s a miracle," she whispered.

"A magic-induced miracle maybe," Harry said, still beaming.

Mrs Weasley turned to him as soon as she had let go of Draco: "You´re going to be a father," she whispered, her eyes swimming again. "You´ll finally have your very own family... oh Harry!"

She hugged him once more. "Of course I didn´t mean that _we´_re not... you know." she added after she let go of him.

Another arm sneaked around Harry´s shoulders all of a sudden, and he nearly jumped, but it was Ron. "He´s practically a Weasley, so it stays in the family" he said quietly if grinning, and Harry deduced that his friend had guessed what they were talking about.

It meant a lot to him that Ron had accepted his relationship with Draco, and that he was approving of their wish to have a child. Ron had been a loyal friend and almost a brother ever since they had gotten to know each other, and Harry was glad for his support.

Mrs Weasley all but descended on her son now: "You already know?"

"Yeah..." Ron looked a tad uncomfortable now. "I couldn´t tell you, could I?" he defended himself. "That´s not my business. Not to mention that Hermione would have had my head if I had."

"Oh, you..." Mrs Weasley scoffed, but Harry cut in now to appease her: "We wanted to wait a little, you see, to make sure everything was all right. Hermione and Ron are the only ones who knew until now."

"Oh, my dears... that´s your decision of course, but I´m so happy..."

Draco slid his hand into the pocket of his dress robes, clutching his baby-bump through the cloth.

-

As the evening wore on, Molly noticed that Draco was paler than usual and looked a little strained whenever he seemed to think no one was watching him.

At one point he left the room to use the bathroom, and Molly followed him a while later, pretending to be pleasantly surprised when they met in the hallway.

"Come into the kitchen with me," she invited him and took his arm, "I could do with a cup of tea now. All the champagne is making me wobbly!"

Draco, glad to be away from the crowd for a while, silently complied.

Molly whisped up two mugs of tea for them and they sat down at the kitchen counter, much like Hermione and he used to do.

"Ah," she sighed, kicking off her shoes, "this is better. It´s awfully nice of you all to surprise me like this, but I´m getting too old to be on my feet all the time..."

Draco laughed quietly: "60 is not old," he demured.

"Maybe not, but it´s no walk in the park either," she agreed good-naturedly.

"Nothing is," Draco murmured and looked down at his mug. Molly saw that one of his hands was moving underneath his robes, and assumed he was stroking his belly.

"Are you all right, love?" she asked quietly.

Draco nodded and shrugged at the same time.

"I´m scared," he whispered after a long moment of silence. "I´m so happy with Harry, and we´re both very happy about... this, and it scares me. I realized that I don´t think Harry could cope with it if something happened to the baby... what if something goes wrong?"

Molly cocked her head: "Harry has coped with a lot of difficult matters in his life already," she stated firmly. "But that´s not the point, is it? It´s very common to fear for the little life you´re carrying. It´s more than just a fetus to you, and you can´t bear the thought of losing it."

When Draco looked up, she nodded: "Yes, dear, I´m talking about you. _You_ should come first, Draco. You´re the one who´s pregnant, and I think I´d be very much mistaken to assume that Harry´d only care about the baby if something happened, or that it wouldn´t be exceptionally hard on you either. Don´t you think he´d be equally, if not even more, concerned about _you_?"

Draco averted his eyes again: "I suppose," he said softly.

"Of course he would," Molly confirmed. She reached out and took Draco´s hand that was lying next to the mug: "I lost a baby once," she said so lowly that it was hardly understandable. "It was terrible, for both of us, but Arthur did not once make me feel as though it´d been my fault."

"I´m sorry," Draco whispered. "I didn´t know."

"You couldn´t have, dear, we never told anyone."

She squeezed his hand: "Arthur didn´t make me feel guilty, and Harry wouldn´t either, I´m sure of it. He loves you very much, Draco."

Draco drew a shaky breath: "I know."

Molly smiled: "If an old woman is allowed to give you advice: talk to him, dear. Tell him about your worries. I know you´re considerate of his job, but this time is mostly about you, and you´re entitled to let your partner coddle you for once. Your own job is hard enough, therefore you should be able to enjoy the pregnancy, and look forward to the baby."

Draco nodded, feeling his eyes swimming again: "But... what if this is the only chance we get?"

"Then you will somehow manage to handle it," she said, her own eyes moist as well. "Losing a child is never getting easier, and it hurts as much if you only have one as it does if you have seven."

They were weeping together silently now, sharing their emotions.

Draco felt as though the knot around his insides, the centre of his fears which had threatened to drown him lately, had come undone. His tears were actually doing him good, and he only hoped that he had not ruined Molly´s evening by making her think of her dead son.

A moment later, she answered this unspoken question of his however, by looking up: "Georgie will probably bully your guardian angel to work overtime, you know?"

They stared at each other for a moment, then both of them broke into shaky laughter.

"Thanks," Draco breathed, wiping his eyes.

"You´re welcome, dear," Molly quickly stroked over his cheek. "You´ll be fine, you´ll see. If I´ve learned one thing about Harry, it is that he fights for what he values."

-

Back in the crowded living room, after cooling their reddened eyes for a bit, Draco suddenly felt an arm around his midriff.

"Molly´s right, you look tired, sweetheart," Harry stated, eyeing him affectionately and undeniably quite maudlin as well. "Are you all right?"

Draco nodded, feeling the weight on his heart lifting considerably all of a sudden. "Yeah," he said, smiling. "I am."

-

That night, for the first time in weeks Draco fell asleep before Harry.

Who admittedly was considerably sloshed, but managed to refrain himself from waking his lover just to tell him how much he meant to him.

**--**

**To Be Continued**

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